‘We Will No Longer Accept the Lies’:

[Glenn Beck’s Speech at Washington, D.C. Rally]

Glenn Beck is the CEO & Founder of Mercury Radio Arts. Beck is one of America’s leading radio and television personalities, and author of #1 New York Times bestsellers in both fiction and non-fiction. The Glenn Beck Program is syndicated by Premiere Radio Networks and is the third highest-rated national radio talk show among adults ages 25 to 54. Glenn is married with four kids.

Editor’s note: Below are the prepared remarks for Glenn Beck’s speech in Washington, D.C., on June 19, 2013. This post has been updated with more up-to-date text, though the delivered remarks may slightly differ.

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Today, inside, they dedicated a new statue of another American giant, Fredrick Douglas – a man born into slavery, but who knew instinctively that he was not born a slave. No man is.

To keep a man a slave you do much the same as the cruel circus masters did to the elephant around the turn of last century. Clamp heavy chains around their legs and stake them to the ground. Then beat and terrorize them. After a while you no longer even have to stake the chain; the elephant gives up and just the mere rattle of the chain convinces the elephant there is no hope, so they give up and do what ever it is the circus requires.

Fredrick Douglas was lucky enough to live in a house where he was taught to read, write and think. He knew God did not make men masters over others. Nor did he ever intend any man to impose unrighteous dominion over another man or beast.

(Photo: TheBlaze)

It is time we remind ourselves of this truth again, and begin to rise up against the intimidation before the handful of peanuts from our new political circus masters is considered a kindness and not the symbol of evil cruelty.

In the building behind me, they are now excusing storing all data, phone calls, financial transactions, geotracking on every American for our “safety,” while allowing anyone to cross our borders either on foot or in underground tunnels without any worry or consequence.

They have not suspended or fired but promoted those at the IRS who rattled the chains of control to any group that disagreed with their policies. And now, after pushing misery and death through the so-called “Arab Spring” in country after country, they are plotting a new war with Syria. This will bring death and destruction the world over. We are told that we need to pick sides and arm those who are so far down the scale of decency that even Vladimir Putin asked Americans if they knew that those we are arming have literally eaten their enemies on the battlefield.

The fact that he even needed to ask that question, and that most have never even seen the video of the commander of the rebel troops on TV engaging in this ungodly horror, is an indictment of our government officials and our media.

I am surrounded today by some modern-day spiritual giants. All from different faiths, different backgrounds and many different views. But we all have one thing in common. We don’t recognize our country anymore and because we know that God is just, we tremble for our children’s future.

We wonder, are we even worth defending anymore? If so, why? Who are we? And will we even notice or care when the chain is finally snapped around our legs?

What will be written about us? The greatest generation has passed. We are who historians will watch.

Will it be said that none called for justice not one pleaded for truth? They trusted in vanity and spoke lies. They conceived mischief and brought forth iniquity.

What is it we even believe as a people anymore? Where did we get these ideas that now seem so popular? Our forbears came to these shores not for free stuff, but for freedom. The chance to make their own way, create a different life. They came here because they knew that God made them free to make their own way in life, take the risk, do their best and take responsibility for their own lives.

They came here because they wanted to serve Him in the way they believed, not as they were told.

But how many care about our history? And, of those who do care, how many really still believe?

Some things are worth believing in. That the little guy can make it. Every single life has value and is worth living. That honor and integrity do matter. That justice will prevail – if not in this life – then the next, and that God does exist. And what we do in our lives matters.

It is the meek and the humble that inherit the earth. Have we forgotten?

We have declared ourselves masters of the earth — spread our troops all over the world, taught the world how to do banking like we do it here in America. Even though we can’t even master our own homes, protect our neighborhoods, or simply balance a check book. How grotesque and garish we must appear to those looking in.

I, for one, still believe in the silly notion of truth, justice and the American way.

Since our founding, a good percentage of our fellow citizens closed their eyes to the civil rights of all Americans. “I’m okay. I don’t want to think of the bad things going on. I am busy. It doesn’t affect me. It can’t be that bad and even if it is, I am just one person and what can I do about it anyway?”

Nothing has changed, except the chairs at the table.

Someone has always been on the losing end of the stick of power. Blacks are the most obvious, the Chinese, the Native Americans, but let’s not forget the Irish, the Catholics, the Mormons, the Jews, and now it seems all those of faith that will not conform.

For those that think men make progress collectively: I warn you, history teaches that you couldn’t be more wrong. We are redeemed one man at a time. There is no “family pass” ticket or park hopping pass to life. One ticket, one life at a time.

Man doesn’t vanquish hatred or bigotry. The target keeps moving. From the blacks to the Irish. Atheists to Christians.

But as always, there are a few leaders: Ben Franklin, John Quincy Adams, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Abraham Lincoln, Fredrick Douglas, Booker T. Washington, Gandhi and Martin Luther King. They know that the march toward freedom never ends; man must be ever-vigilant and pray less with his lips and more with his legs.

They never forget that truth, justice, and freedom are the wellspring from which the waters of man’s civil rights come. And so they must be upheld for all men – those you know, those you do not, and maybe more importantly — they must be upheld for those who you do know but do not like or agree with at all. If they are lost for one, in the end they are lost for all.

In the past, these historic stands which we now call civil rights movements were done by a small but dedicated portion of our citizens which led to great shifts in our culture. But those movements always came from the same institutions … the church. And usually not the church with the popular preacher, but the one who put it on the line to tell the people the truth.

Preachers like these men, who know that we are all born free, but that freedom comes at a great price — a profound responsibility to stand against injustice, hatred and bigotry. Our pulpits have gone quiet out of arrogance, fear and apathy. Their faith is found in the wisdom of man and not in the power of God. For some, losing tithing checks or the gold Rolex watch has become more important than losing man’s freedom.

Whatever the reason, too many are no longer willing to call evil by its name. There is no vision. And when there is no vision, the people perish.

I humbly suggest to you that Martin Luther King knew the answer, and he lost more than congregants during his long march. Students are taught that his vision came from the ideas of Gandhi. Maybe a new radical 20th century progressive philospher was the one that taught MLK that “although we be free of all men, when we choose to make ourselves servants to all, we gain the more.”

Let’s get a couple of things straight. What MLK and Gandhi did was not progressive or new. It was an ancient idea. Hollywood, Woodstock, nor the hippie culture was the source of power of the 1960s freedom movement.

God was.

He was leading those who risked their lives over that bridge in Selma, not Janice Joplin, Columbia University, or a labor union. It wasn’t John Lennon that taught people about love and peaceful resistance — that job fell on the shoulders of a Jewish carpenter. And it is there that we will find the answers that will break the chains that are being forged for a new generation of slaves.

The rights that so many Americans ignorantly preach about so often are not really their rights. They belong to God and they are given to us for stewardship. They are pretty important and obvious. So obvious that we used to say they were “self-evident,” meaning that humans don’t need to be taught; you instinctively know that you have a right not to be executed without a trial, held without charge, searched without warrant or spied upon without cause.

The government is no longer the protector of those civil rights, and so we must be. When we are told that it is okay for the IRS, EPA, ATF, FBI or anyone to hassle, threaten or intimidate others because of their skin color, religion or political belief, we stop being the country that we all want to build, and start being the country the world should fear.

The long train of abuses regarding these rights are the same MLK marched against, and the very same our dusty founders warned us about losing.

Men may make progress, but man never changes. Man loves power and money. No matter the skin color, religion or income level. These symbols of our nation make men drunk with power, who then justify their lust for more by claiming they are public servants. The only difference between Las Vegas and Washington, D.C. is that at least Vegas has the decency to admit the town is full of hookers and crooks.

We must sober up and admit that too many of the Republicans and the Democrats have played us, lied to us and stolen from us, while the getaway car was driven by the media. A media that can no longer claim with a straight face the role of journalist. Journalists print the things the powerful don’t want printed. What they do is public relations. Those PR firms will not print the truth about the average American who finds himself concerned with the direction of our country today. So we must.

We are not violent. We are not racist. We are not anti immigrant. We are not anti-government. And we will not be silent anymore.

Those who wish to use unrighteous dominion over mankind are not enemies of ours; they are enemies of God, and He will not be silent much longer either. We will no longer accept the lies, the corruption, or the information and data gathering. It is evil. And we come here today to send a message that we will surround all of those who wish to stand and break the cycle of corruption. We will use ourselves as shields to protect those in the system, the elected officials or whistle blowers with the courage to stand.

We come here today to respectfully, but with the power of the spirit, demand to be treated as an equal member of society. I am a man, and I will be treated as such. I answer to only one king and His kingdom will come, His will be done. We have chosen sides and we choose God. America as a nation must do the same, as well.

(Photo: TheBlaze)

We come today to declare our independence, to reaffirm our founding principles. We, as a nation, acknowledge a creator. We acknowledge that he gives certain natural, guaranteed rights to man. We declare that government exists primarily to protect these natural, God-given rights. He has established right and wrong. He is just and therefore, man must pay for his mistakes either now on Earth, or through God’s justice later.

There is no such thing as social justice. Only God can balance things out, and we are not God. But honest and decent men can fight for and establish equal justice.

There is no such thing as collective salvation. We, however, are going to be judged on how we treat our fellow brothers and sisters. Thus we must serve them, help them with charity toward all. “Malice toward none,” Lincoln said. God said it slightly differently – vengeance is mine.

Anyone who speaks of punishing their political enemies in on the wrong side. It is clearly evil and we have a responsibility to say so.

America: it is now your time to rise up and boldly declare those same self-evident truths that changed the world, and demand that those truths remain the basis of our laws.

My civil rights will not be trampled, and I say this not for me but for my children, and all those who yearn to breathe free. Those who make your Apple products at Foxxcon, those who languish in prisons in Cuba, North Korea and Venezuela. Those homosexuals who are stoned to death in the streets of Egypt or Iran, while our so-called civil rights leaders hold coffee klatches with third graders in the White House.

We will stand not for our job, house or income, but we will stand for those immigrants who came here the right way, and not have their dreams destroyed by increasing competition at the lowest rung of the ladder while keeping the brightest and best minds out of the visa pool allowing for little competition at the top.

We will not pervert women’s rights and twist it into a gross silent defense of abortion doctors in Philly and Houston while turning our eyes from the forgotten women who have never had the civil right to walk alone on a street without a man, or to drive a car in Pakistan or Saudi Arabia, and even those who now cower in fear with their faces covered in states like Florida, Virginia, New York and Minnesota.

We will not waste another second shadow boxing the demons of the past when the fight to end actual slavery is still happening today. Call it what you will, but those who make your iPad in China – those who make your cute little Mao purses – are the very people you claim to care so much about. They are the ones yearning to breathe free. And worse, there is the oldest form of human degradation man has ever known, the sex slave trade that currently has in its coils over 2 million children. The biggest source of this evil is a wide open hole in our Arizona border.

We beg the American people to wake up and help the 8-year-old children being sold into sex slavery. The press may say, ‘How dare these men declare themselves the next Martin Luther King or civil rights leaders?’

How blind to believe the civil rights movement ever ended. The civil rights movement never ends, and it never will. It has been marching since the beginning of time. Where Martin Luther King started is where Gandhi left off, and where he started, Abe Lincoln left off, and before that Whitfield all the way back to Moses. God has not moved. We have. But it is never too late. We are not at the mercy of these events. We can alter the course of history. We can stand against the dangerous arc of this story. But we need people who are willing to speak truth.

(Photo: TheBlaze)

The last century was a century of genocide. A century where collectivist, national socialist, and communist evil rose up again and again… swallowing up the lives of millions. It happens every time man says the collective is more important than the right of the individual. That one phrase becomes in the end – every time – a license to kill anyone deemed to be standing in the way of progress.

But evil met its match. Goodness eventually prevailed. People like Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Martin Luther King, Jr., Lech Walesa and Mother Theresa awoke the world. They gave their lives to the pursuit of human rights. They took the side of justice against injustice; they held aloft the torch of freedom to push out the darkness of hate.

These men and women lived difficult lives. They often lived shortened lives. They were often born to relative privilege, but willing to take on suffering. They did want not to martyr themselves. They would have happily lived to the end of their natural lives in comfort… but to the righteous, there is no comfort when evil has taken root.

But the cause of human rights has been taken over by organizations who share little with the individuals who led the movement. Human rights was once a cry for justice. Now it used as a threat. These organizations have become bullies and grotesque parodies of the principles they pretend to represent. They criticize free nations and spare the unfree. They denounce nations like Israel and America, who have high standards for freedom, and leave alone nations that have no freedom at all. They are nearly comical in their double-standards.

They are no more than the enforcers or the attack dogs of those who wish to keep men confined in spaces they design. Whatever moral force they once had is spent. Their time is up. And so, we dismiss them. Today we take back the phrase “human rights” and place it where it belongs, as the first half of God’s plan for humanity. The second half is responsibility.

If we want to be endowed with rights – real human rights, we have to act with responsibility. We must not be comfortable with rights. We must be comfortable with responsibility.

Who will protect your rights better? A king, president or you?

Who will protect the truth? A reporter, a labor union or you?

Who will protect and teach your children to seek truth? A textbook committee, an education bureaucrat, or you?

Did a commission of wise men stop the Holocaust? Did a committee of Congress end Jim Crow?

No. In each case, the work was done by individuals who would not abide convenient lies.

They saw injustice and they called it out. They saw their nation wage war against a single group and they said “not in my name.” They didn’t wait for the conventions of society to catch up to God’s laws. They pushed. They pressed. And they were victorious.

(Photo: TheBlaze)

Each of us have been waiting for a leader to rise from among us. And none have. How many have been called and refused to serve? How many must have failed to heed the call for the Lord to make it all the way down to us?

I pray now that those who have heard the call to rise up in the tradition of peaceful resistance do so now before, as it was with Bonhoeffer, it is too late. I beg those with eyes and ears to heed the call and begin to train under the exact system used by MLK. Search his words out. You will find that your history professors and civil rights activists left out the real author of the words of Gandhi, King and Bonhoeffer.

Read them, ponder them, and risk living them. Even though they will make you a target of the NSA, having your name on their list as an enemy may in the end be the way your name is forever etched in his book of life.

Pastors, priests and rabbis: I challenge you. What have you done with your knowledge and priesthood power that those without have not done this week? If you cannot answer that with power every day, what does that say about you?

Average citizens and college students: I challenge you. Martin Luther King didn’t take a class, get a certificate and a bunch of permits. He saw injustice, studied eternal truths, exercised discipline and marched.

If you don’t find a leader, perhaps it is because you were meant to lead.

Christians: I believe in the free market. If your preacher is too afraid to preach it from the pulpit, maybe you should preach it from the street corner. Many are called. Will you answer?

Our spiritual body is out of shape and we need intensive training right now.

Get back to God, and know that some things are true and worth believing in. The good guys do win in the end. Evil does not stand unless good men never rise up. The time is now and we are the people the world is waiting for. We must never stop being the shore that others can come to for shelter and hope.

But to do so we must realign ourselves with truth and rise up and stand. This is the vision. We must preach good tidings to the meek, bind up the brokenhearted, and proclaim liberty to those held captive. To declare vengeance belongs to God and God alone. We must give unto those who mourn — beauty for ashes and water the trees of righteousness. We shall not perish.

I can’t help that most of us don’t like to hear the truth, but hear it we must: George Washington told us religion and morality are the only stable and lasting basis of individual life and public policy. If we are to survive, they must be part of our public policy rather than driven from it.

It is no longer enough to just be a good person. We must work to be the next Abraham Lincoln or Martin Luther King. It is noble to strive to be the size of the bronze giant they dedicated this morning in the building behind me. Fredrick Douglas’ time was in the 1800; King’s time has passed. This is our time. This is the next long
march toward civil rights and we shall overcome.

Stand without fear, lock arms and stare down the bullies that wish to enslave mankind yet again.

Honor, courage and love are what is required, and they are contagious. Spread the word and proclaim liberty throughout the land.

“Let us, today, raise a standard to which the wise and honest can repair; the rest is in the hands of God.”

I encourage all to read this, regardless of interest or disinterest in the issues of religious freedom, freedom in general, religion in general, healthcare, sexual freedom, sex in general, privacy, civil disobedience or whether government should act as protector or director of freedoms. Why? Simply because it’s invasive to all (non-American citizens as well) at some level. In other words, if it’s not in your face already, it will be.

At the very least, it adds to the correction of any misconception that the Catholic Church has no influence in today’s world. It does, and even when not understood on a common-citizen level, it’s understood almost unanimously on national and international levels. The Church has been, is and will continue to be a major player on our world’s “chessboard.” And, they’re not going away. President Obama may be jousting with them at the moment, but he knows it as well.

If you’re a person of any conviction, ranging from no conviction at all (a conviction in itself) to a monk in a monastery, this present match concerns your life at a much higher level. Are you a person who wants to be left alone without anyone telling you what you can or can’t do with your life (outside of crimes against property, person, government, etc.)? Or, are you a person who is fine with ceding some, many or all of your freedoms to the government as a director and even enforcer of freedoms custom-fitted for all citizens by a majority vote of citizens?

In a constitutional republic, which is still what we live in within America, the government protects all freedoms without creating / directing / enforcing them upon a minority. When you’re an equal people, there can be no minority. It’s only within a democracy, where majority rules over the lives of a minority, that you will find our inherent equality-by-nature of whites, Blacks, women, men, religious, atheist or otherwise trumped by a custom-fitted nature for all.

In this specific match between the Church and President Obama, the president is not acting as an equal-by-nature protector of a constitutional republic where religious freedoms (including those of no convictions) are defended equally. He’s not even acting as a protector of sexual freedoms when trying to establish one policy that applies to all, regardless of one’s beliefs, religious or otherwise. He is acting from out of a form of social democracy where he very clearly seeks to direct “the many” of all citizens along “the one” same path — ultimately, with no variance allowed.

Whether you’re in the majority or minority (where you’ll least like it), you’ll be affected. If you think you’ll wind up in the majority for every issue close to your heart, think again.

This is a letter from the recently promoted Timothy Cardinal Dolan, formerly Archbishop of New York, to all of the bishops of the Catholic Church, dated March 2, 2012. I’ve given the link at the bottom for a copy of the entire letter, with his signature included. For this blog, I’ve condensed the letter to its most directly stated points, and I’ve highlighted in bold the “boldest” of bold statements from the new Cardinal. Then, I’ve underlined the words and statements, in my view, to taken most seriously. If nothing else, please view the highlights.

As a side note, if there’s one thing, for me, that has led to the present and growing disconnect between parish-level Catholics and the Church heirarchy, it’s that the Bishops, Archbishops and Cardinals (who do most of the letter-writing and “attempted” communicating that finds its way to the street-level parishioners) have no sense whatsoever (meaning, none) of “street language,” so to speak. They tend to talk and write like they’re still in the first century Church of Peter or Paul.

I’ve purposely excised as much as possible of that in my below condensation simply because I believe that communication is a bridge between one and another (including those at a street level like me). I truly want an inclusive “all” to understand the Cardinal’s argument. Take a peek at the original document, and you’ll see what I’m getting at. In all fairness, though, the Cardinal addressed the letter to fellow Cardinals, but I still say they need to talk “to” the people instead of “down to” them to encourage a much needed healing of the widening disconnect. –SB

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) March 2, 2012:

I have written you to express my gratitude for our unity in faith and action as we move forward to protect our religious freedom from unprecedented intrusion from a government bureau, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

. . . we as a body have had opportunities during our past plenary assemblies to manifest our strong unity in defense of religious freedom.

Since January 20, when the final, restrictive HHS Rule was first announced, we have become certain of two things: religious freedom is under attack, and we will not cease our struggle to protect it.

Benedict XVI . . . “Of particular concern are certain attempts being made to limit that most cherished of American freedoms, the freedom of religion.”

Bishop Stephen Blaire and Bishop William Lori, with so many others, have admirably kept us focused on this one priority of protecting religious freedom. We have made it clear in no uncertain terms to the government that we are not at peace with its invasive attempt to curtail the religious freedom we cherish as Catholics and Americans. We did not ask for this fight, but we will not run from it.

. . . each of us would prefer to spend our energy engaged in and promoting the works of mercy to which the Church is dedicated: healing the sick, teaching our youth, and helping the poor. . . . each of the ministries entrusted to us by Jesus is now in jeopardy due to this bureaucratic intrusion into the internal life of the church. . . . we were doing those extensive and noble works rather well without these radical new constrictive and forbidding mandates.

Our Church has a long tradition of effective partnership with government and the wider community in the service of the sick, our children, our elders, and the poor at home and abroad, and we sure hope to continue it.

. . . this is not a “Catholic” fight alone. . . . to quote . . . a nurse who emailed me, “I’m not so much mad about all this as a Catholic, but as an American.” . . . Governor Mike Huckabee, observed, “In this matter, we’re all Catholics.”

. . . We are grateful to know so many of our fellow Americans . . . stand together in this important moment in our country. They know that this is not just about sterilization, abortifacients, and chemical contraception. It’s about religious freedom, the sacred right of any Church to define its own teaching and ministry.

When the President announced on January 20th that the choking mandates from HHS would remain, not only we bishops and our Catholic faithful, but people of every faith, or none at all, rallied in protest. The worry that we had expressed — that such government control was contrary to our deepest political values — was eloquently articulated by constitutional scholars and leaders of every creed.

On February 10th, the President announced that the insurance providers would have to pay the bill, instead of the Church’s schools, hospitals, clinics, or vast network of charitable outreach having to do so. He considered this “concession” adequate. Did this help? . . . while withholding final judgment, we would certainly give the President’s proposal close scrutiny. . . . we did — and as you know, we are as worried as ever.

For one, there was not even a nod to the deeper concerns about trespassing upon religious freedom, or of modifying the HHS’ attempt to define the how and who of our ministry.

Two, since a big part of our ministries are “self-insured,” we still ask how this protects us. We’ll still have to pay and, in addition to that, we’ll still have to maintain in our policies practices which our Church has consistently taught are grave wrongs in which we cannot participate.

And what about forcing individual believers to pay for what violates their religious freedom and conscience? We can’t abandon the hard working person of faith who has a right to religiousfreedom.

And three, there was still no resolution about the handcuffs placed upon renowned Catholic charitable agencies, both national and international, and their exclusion from contracts just because they will not refer victims of human trafficking, immigrants and refugees, and the hungry of the world, for abortions, sterilization, or contraception. In many ways, the announcement of February 10 solved little and complicated a lot. We now have more questions than answers, more confusion than clarity.

What to do now?

For one . . . we will continue our strong efforts of advocacy and education. In the coming weeks the Conference will continue to provide you, among other things, with catechetical resources on the significance of religious freedom to the Church and the Church’s teaching on it from a doctrinal and moral perspective. We are developing liturgical aids to encourage prayer in our efforts and plans on how we can continue to voice our public and strong opposition to this infringement on our freedom. And the Ad Hoc Committee on Religious Liberty, that has served the Conference so well in its short lifespan, will continue its extraordinary work in service to this important cause.

Two, we will ardently continue to seek a rescinding of the suffocating mandates that require us to violate our moral convictions, or at least insist upon a much wider latitude to the exemptions so that churches can be free of the new, rigidly narrow definition of church, minister and ministry that would prevent us from helping those in need, educating children and healing the sick, no matter their religion.

In this regard, the President invited us to “work out the wrinkles.” We have accepted that invitation. Unfortunately, this seems to be stalled: the White House Press Secretary, for instance, informed the nation that the mandates are a fait accompli (and, embarrassingly for him, commented that we bishops have always opposed Health Care anyway, a charge that is scurrilous and insulting, not to mention flat out wrong. . . .)

The White House already notified Congress that the dreaded mandates are now published in the Federal Registry “without change.” The Secretary of HHS is widely quoted as saying, “Religious insurance companies don’t really design the plans they sell based on their own religious tenets.” That doesn’t bode well for their getting a truly acceptable “accommodation.”

At a recent meeting between staff of the bishops’ conference and the White House staff, our staff members asked directly whether the broader concerns of religious freedom—that is, revisiting the straight-jacketing mandates, or broadening the maligned exemption—are all off the table. They were informed that they are. So much for “working out the wrinkles.”

Instead, they advised the bishops’ conference that we should listen to the “enlightened” voices of accommodation, such as the recent, hardly surprising yet terribly unfortunate editorial in America [prominent Jesuit publication]. The White House seems to think we bishops simply do not know or understand Catholic teaching and so, taking a cue from its own definition of religious freedom, now has nominated its own handpicked official Catholic teachers.

We will continue to accept invitations to meet with and to voice our concerns to anyone of any party, for this is hardly partisan, who is willing to correct the infringements on religious freedomthat we are now under. But as we do so, we cannot rely on off the record promises offixes without deadlines and without assurances of proposals that will concretely address theconcerns in a manner that does not conflict with our principles and teaching.

Congress might provide more hope, since thoughtful elected officials have proposed legislation to protect what should be so obvious: religious freedom. Meanwhile, in our recent debate in the senate, our opponents sought to obscure what is really a religious freedom issue by maintaining that abortion inducing drugs and the like are a “woman’s health issue.” We will not let this deception stand.

Our commitment to seeking legislative remedies remains strong. And it is about remedies to the assault on religious freedom. Period.

(By the way, the Church hardly needs to be lectured about health care for women. Thanks mostly to our Sisters, the Church is the largest private provider of health care for women and their babies in the country.)

Bishop William Lori, Chairman of our Ad Hoc Committee on Religious Liberty, stated it well in a recent press release: “We will build on this base of support as we pursue legislation in the House of Representatives, urge the Administration to change its course on this issue, and explore our legal rights under the Constitution and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.”

In the recent Hosanna-Tabor ruling, the Supreme Court unanimously defended the right of a Church to define its own ministry and services, a dramatic rebuff to the administration, apparently unheeded by the White House. Thus, our bishops’ conference, many individual religious entities, and other people of good will are working with some top-notch law firms who feel so strongly about this that they will represent us pro-bono. In the upcoming days, you will hear much more about this encouraging and welcome development.

Given this climate, we have to prepare for tough times. Some, like Americamagazine, want us to cave-in and stop fighting, saying this is simply a policy issue; some want us to close everything down rather than comply (In an excellent article, Cardinal Francis George wrote that the administration apparently wants us to “give up for Lent” our schools, hospitals, and charitable ministries); some, like Bishop Robert Lynch wisely noted, wonder whether we might have to engage in civil disobedience and risk steep fines; some worry that we’ll have to face a decision between two ethically repugnant choices: subsidizing immoral services or no longer offering insurance coverage, a road none of us wants to travel.

. . . we know so very well that religious freedom is our heritage, our legacy and our firm belief, both as loyal Catholics and Americans. There have been many threats to religious freedomover the decades and years, but these often came from without.

This one sadly comes from within.

As our ancestors did with previous threats, we will tirelessly defend the timeless and enduring truth of religious freedom.

This is an outstanding response to an immigrant reader’s question from last Monday’s Wall Street Journal that I had to add to my posts. Crossen, in her “Dear Book Lover” column, writes:

“In a sense all American fiction is immigrant fiction. It’s ‘the literature of crossings, of uprooting and transplantation,’ wrote the critic Charles L. Crow. ‘New settlers seek fresh starts, but bring selves nurtured elsewhere. If regions confer identity, the identity of the immigrant is never fixed, but always floating between two realms.’ In this era of easy mobility—the average American moves 11 times in a lifetime, according to the Census Bureau—that description would seem to fit many people like me, born and raised in America.”

In her column, she advises reading selections for immigrants to America who want to read adult fiction that will help them to learn the English language. My own addition to her list would be Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 , from 1953 (Bradbury autographed a 40th anniversary edition for me). This is a great followup to a previous post of mine on Ben Franklin and “A Boy’s Plan’s for Self-Improvement.” –SB

Books for Better English

By CYNTHIA CROSSEN

The clerk at my building’s convenience store is from the Middle East. I was carrying John le Carre’s “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy,” and he asked me to lend him books that he could read to improve his English. He wants adult books (I asked him about Harry Potter) and presumably fiction. Do you have any suggestions?

—M.B.M., St. Paul

What a cheering question: An immigrant with what I imagine to be a fairly difficult job wants to polish his English-language skills by reading books.

‘House of Sand and Fog’

The first novel that leapt to mind was Andre Dubus III’s “House of Sand and Fog,” because it’s about a well-educated immigrant from Iran forced to settle for a job as a convenience store clerk. But things don’t end well for Genob Sarhang Amir Behrani. Another novel about an immigrant, Jhumpa Lahiri’s “The Namesake,” has a more hopeful outcome. The writing in both books is accessible (in Ms. Lahiri’s case, it’s often beautiful).

I looked online for lists of books recommended by librarians and teachers for so-called emergent adult readers. These books are also sometimes known as “high-low,” meaning high-interest plots with lower levels of vocabulary. Many of the suggested books are short, which doesn’t always make sense to me. One of the most demanding books I’ve ever read was “The Red Badge of Courage,” whereas some of Stephen King’s door-stoppers seem ideal for reading practice. Another short book that often appears on these lists is John Steinbeck’s “The Pearl,” which seemed like a tough slog to me when I read it in school, although I ended up loving it. Also, the idea of “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” being a good book for emergent adult readers strikes me as ludicrous. Better one of Larry McMurtry’s Western hulks, Pat Conroy’s yarns or Herman Wouk’s sagas.

If a virtue of a book for inexperienced readers is brevity, then collections or anthologies of short stories might be worth a try. The annual edition of “Best American Short Stories” includes works by some of the finest short-story writers of our time, and may help a reader better define what he or she is looking for in longer fiction. (There are also annual collections of Best American Mystery Stories and Best American Essays.) Short-story collections by Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald or J.D. Salinger might also be a manageable path into American literature.

If your man is willing to experiment, I recommend he try a graphic novel, though you may have to overcome a very understandable aversion to comics. Art Spiegelman’s “Maus” books are beautiful and powerful, and the illustrations reinforce the language. Two other good graphic novels for adults are Craig Thompson’s “Blankets” and “Habibi.”

I hope all American citizens, immigrants or not, know they have free access to books at their local libraries, and also free access to the recommendations of their librarians. Most librarians I know are proud of their ability to find appropriate books for readers at different levels of proficiency and interests. Many libraries also have book clubs, so readers less confident of their judgments and analyses can try them out with their book-loving neighbors.

Audiobooks are another way to read, with the added benefit of hearing English spoken by narrators who have (for the most part) excellent diction. Most libraries have collections of these, too. The mellifluous actor Erik Steele reads Peter Benchley’s “Jaws“; Garrison Keillor reads a collection of Lake Wobegon monologues for a compilation called “My Little Town“; Gary Sinise reads John Steinbeck’s “Travels with Charley in Search of America.”

In a sense all American fiction is immigrant fiction. It’s “the literature of crossings, of uprooting and transplantation,” wrote the critic Charles L. Crow. “New settlers seek fresh starts, but bring selves nurtured elsewhere. If regions confer identity, the identity of the immigrant is never fixed, but always floating between two realms.” In this era of easy mobility—the average American moves 11 times in a lifetime, according to the Census Bureau—that description would seem to fit many people like me, born and raised in America.

I have a beat-up paperback book entitled, A Cookbook for Poor Poets and Others by Ann Rogers, published originally in 1966, then republished by Scribners in 1970. On the inside cover of my copy, there’s a very nice inscription in blue ballpoint ink, “For Nell June 30, 1974 Love, Leroy.” I thought the title was cool, and hey, money is tight in 2012. I paid 99 cents for it at a bookshop.

In Rogers’ introduction to the book, she states three rules: “always have fresh bread,” “always use butter” and “always serve wine.” Any poor poet couldn’t go wrong there, especially with rule number three.

Prices have skyrocketed since 1970, and the word on the street is that they won’t be going down soon. This is one very good reason for people to pay attention to the upcoming November election. The economy is bottom-feeding right now. If we want to look forward to more than bread, butter and cheap wine, we need to raise our voices at the ballot box.

In the meantime, the Wall Street Journal (most articles can be accessed for free online or full editions at a library) publishes incredible food and drink ideas in their Saturday editions. I have a link to their food section on this site. Today’s edition includes some recipes for Asian Soup that sound brilliant to me. What better for a poor poet’s soul in the dead of winter than recipes for Asian soup?

In posting this article, please note that mine is a personal blogsite with no commercial intent. –SB

Whether light and clear or rich and thick, soup always satisfies. I grew up in San Clemente, Calif., eating simple Asian soups that my mother prepared five nights a week as part of our traditional Vietnamese family suppers. We ladled her soup of the day into our rice bowls and enjoyed it throughout the meal, often slurping it as if a beverage.

On the weekends, we assembled and breakfasted on hot noodle soups made with broth that my mother had simmered the day before. When we had special celebrations, be it Christmas, Easter or Tet (Vietnamese New Year), extravagant soups loaded with fresh crab and fancy mushrooms kicked off the festivities. For an immigrant family like ours, the soups helped to reinforce our identity. While my siblings and I were crazy for mac and cheese, our heritage was nearby, in one brothy form or another.

During my bratty teens, a time when I mostly craved burgers and pizza, I complained about all the soup in our diet. My mother shot back, “Soup is good food.” She borrowed the line from Campbell’s not because she was a canned chicken noodle devotee, but because the slogan echoed her gut belief: Soup comforted the soul as it nourished the body.

Her response launched my love of homemade soups. Nowadays, my own family enjoys dinner in a bowl at least three times a week.

Many Asian soups can be made with water but the truly magnificent ones depend on a good stock. I simmer a batch of multipurpose chicken stock whenever I have time and freeze it in quart-size containers; you can make two to three soups from one batch of stock. Featuring chicken parts, onion, ginger and salt, the golden liquid is what I deploy for a pan-Asian roster of soups. (In emergency situations, I doctor up canned broth.)

Another favorite this time of the year is a Thai meatball soup (gaeng jued tao hu sarai) comprised of silken tofu, seaweed and little pork meatballs spiked with garlic and cilantro. It’s a mild soup that calms the palate in between bites of fiery dishes.

To recover from a night of overindulging, I look to big bowls of noodle soup. Light and clean-tasting chicken and cellophane noodle soup (mien ga) is a Vietnamese classic that can’t be beat for its sheer ease. To make it, you simply tweak the stock with fish sauce and yellow rock sugar, then add the noodles and shredded chicken. Those foundational elements soothe while the plucky garnishes of fresh Vietnamese coriander, black pepper and chilis revive the senses.

For a fun project that pays off handsomely, make some Asian dumplings and serve them in a bowl of hot broth. My take on Japanese sui gyoza includes a dashi-like smoky chicken brew. A bowl of plump dumplings in broth is cozy and appeals to children and adults. Like all soups, it’s a universal pleasure that tames hunger and warms the spirit.

Ingredients

Chubby 3-inch piece fresh ginger, unpeeled and smashed with the flat side of a chef’s knife

2½ teaspoons salt

What To Do

1. Rinse chicken under cool water. Remove and discard any loose fat. Using a heavy cleaver, whack bones to break them partway or all the way through, making the cuts at 1- to 2-inch intervals. This exposes the marrow, which enriches the stock.

2. Put bones in a stockpot, add 4 quarts water and place over high heat. Bring almost to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer. For the next few minutes, use a ladle or large spoon to skim off and discard any scum that rises to the top.

3. Add onion, ginger and salt. Adjust heat to maintain a simmer. You want small bubbles to constantly break lightly on the surface. Let stock cook, uncovered, for 2½ hours.

4. Remove pot from heat and let stand undisturbed for 30 minutes. Position a fine-mesh sieve over a large saucepan. Gently ladle stock through the sieve. Remove and discard bones as they get in your way. Tilt the stockpot to ladle out as much clear stock as possible, then discard the sediment-laden liquid and any remaining bits at the bottom of the pot.

5. Taste the stock. If it is not as flavorful as you would like, simmer it to reduce the liquid and concentrate the flavors. Once you are satisfied with the taste, let stock cool completely, cover, and refrigerate until fat solidifies on the surface, for at least 8 hours. Remove and discard fat. The stock is now ready to use. Refrigerate for up to 1 week, or freeze for up to 3 months.

Quick Stock Options

Homemade stock has inimitable depth and flavor, but when time is limited, you can fudge it with canned chicken broth. Choose one that is relatively clear and tastes like chicken and not much else. I keep full-sodium Swanson broth on hand for emergency soups.

Option 1: If you have 30 minutes to spare, imbue the canned broth with Asian flavor. In a saucepan, dilute canned broth with water in a ratio of 2 parts broth to 1 part water. Start with between 5 and 10% more liquid than what you will actually need, as there will be some evaporation.

For every 4 cups mixed liquid, you will need 2 quarter-sized slices ginger and 1 scallion, cut into 3-inch lengths. Lightly smash these ingredients with the broad side of a cleaver or chef’s knife. Bring broth and water to a simmer, add ginger and scallion, and simmer gently, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Discard scallion and ginger. The stock is now ready to use.

Option 2: For an instant stock, just combine canned broth with water in a ratio of 2 parts broth to 1 part water. The result won’t be as complex as Option 1, but it will work.

Ms. Nguyen is the author of “Into the Vietnamese Kitchen,” “Asian Dumplings” and “Asian Tofu,” all from Ten Speed Press, where the original versions of these recipes appear.

F. Martin Ramin for The Wall Street Journal, Styling by Anne CardenasHot-and-sour soup is zingy and great for dinner, and terrific for lunch.

Hot-and-Sour Soup

A zingy soup that’s great for dinner and terrific for lunch with a sandwich, salad or dumplings. Dried lily bulbs, sold at Chinese markets (usually near the dried mushrooms), impart a mild tang and crunch. If they’re not available, substitute ½ cup of shredded bamboo shoots.

What To Do

2. In a 3- or 4-quart pot, heat oil over high heat. Add ginger and cook, stirring frequently, until ginger is super fragrant, about a minute. Add lily bulbs and mushrooms, stir until you can smell their perfume, about 15 seconds, then add stock.

3. Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer, then add remaining 1½ tablespoons soy sauce and 1 tablespoon rice wine. Taste and season with salt and white pepper. Aim for a spicy kick and savory depth. Add pork and tofu, stirring to separate. Meanwhile, dissolve remaining ¼ cup cornstarch in 6 tablespoons water. Set aside.

4. When pork has just cooked through, give the cornstarch a final stir, then gradually add to the soup. You may not need the entire amount—aim to create a soup that’s silky thick, not gloppy. When satisfied, give the egg a final stir and pour it into the soup in a wide circle. Stir gently as the egg solidifies into suspended ribbons. Add the Chinkiang vinegar, gently stirring. Taste and adjust flavor with salt, white pepper and vinegar. Ladle into a serving bowl or individual soup bowls. Scatter green onion on top and serve.

3. Put chicken stock in a 3-quart saucepan. Add 1 pinch sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt and remaining 2 tablespoons soy sauce. Bring to a boil. Use two teaspoons to scoop up pork and shape into 1-inch meatballs. Pass the raw pork back and forth between the spoons to smooth the surface before casting the meatball into the pot. You should have about 16 meatballs. When the soup returns to a boil, lower the heat to simmer for about 4 minutes to cook the pork. Skim and discard any scum that rises to the surface.

4. Meanwhile, cut tofu into 3/4-inch cubes or break it up into small pieces with your fingers. When the soup has finished simmering, add tofu. Return soup to a simmer before adding seaweed. Continue to simmer until seaweed has expanded and softened, 3-4 minutes.

5. Taste and make any final flavor adjustments with extra salt, sugar or pepper before serving. Garnish with green onion and cilantro leaves.

Gyoza Dumplings in Smoky Chicken Soup

A major project that’s well worth it. Double up on the dumplings and pan-fry the extras for a side of pot stickers. If you’re short on time and have a favorite frozen Asian dumpling, feel free to use it here.

Serves: 4 Total Time: 1½ hours

Broth

5 cups chicken stock

1 tablespoon sake

2 pieces dried kelp (kombu), each about 3 to 4 inches long and 2 inches wide

2 cups lightly packed spinach leaves or other tender greens such as chrysanthemum or dandelion

1½ to 2 inches of carrot, cut into fine julienne strips

1 small green onion, white and green parts, cut into thin rings

What To Do

1. Put chicken stock and sake in a large pot. Add kombu and let soak for 15 minutes. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add bonito flakes by scattering them over the surface. Allow to sit for 3-4 minutes. To ensure that all the bits are removed, position a mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth or paper towel over another pot. Pour stock through, saving the kombu for another use, if you wish. If using right away, reheat the stock and cover it to keep it hot. Otherwise cool, refrigerate overnight and reheat before parboiling the dumplings (step 5).

2. To make the filling, toss cabbage with ¼ teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Set aside for about 15 minutes. Drain in a fine-mesh strainer, rinse with water and drain again. To remove more moisture, squeeze the cabbage in your hands over the sink. You should have about ¼ cup firmly packed cabbage. Transfer cabbage to a bowl and add garlic, ginger, Chinese chives, pork and shrimp. Stir and lightly mash the ingredients so that they start to come together.

3. In a small bowl, stir together remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt, sugar, pepper, soy sauce, sake and sesame oil. Pour these seasonings over the meat and cabbage mixture, then stir and fold ingredients into a cohesive, thick mixture. To develop the flavors, cover with plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature for 30 minutes. You should have about 1 cup of filling.

4. Fill each dumpling wrapper with about 2 teaspoons of filling. Brush the edge with water and seal well to form a half-moon. As you work, put the finished dumplings on a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet that’s been lightly dusted with flour. When done, loosely cover with plastic wrap or a dry dishtowel to prevent drying.

5. Parboil dumplings in a large pot filled halfway with water. Gently drop each in, nudging it with a wooden spoon to prevent sticking. When they float to the top, after 3-5 minutes, use a slotted spoon or skimmer to scoop them up, pausing above the pot to allow excess water to drip back down before adding the dumplings to the hot stock. Raise the heat on the stock to gently simmer and finish cooking the dumplings.

6. Meanwhile, add spinach to the boiling water. When it wilts, drain, flush with cold water and drain again. Divide among individual bowls.

7. Add carrot to stock. When dumplings are done, they will look puffy and glossy. Scoop up dumplings and divide among soup bowls. Bring the stock to a boil, taste and adjust the flavor with salt, as needed. Then ladle the stock and carrot into the bowls. Top with green onion and serve immediately.

Chicken and Cellophane Noodle Soup

This easy and bright noodle soup nourishes and restores. Sold in boxes or plastic bags, yellow rock sugar (aka rock candy) lends a round mouthfeel to many Vietnamese noodle-soup broths. Look for it at Chinese and Vietnamese markets.

What To Do

1. In a large pot, bring stock to a boil over high heat. Drop in chicken breasts. When water starts bubbling at the edges of the pot, remove pot from the heat and cover tightly. Let stand for 20 minutes. The chicken breast should be firm yet still yield a bit to the touch. Remove it and let cool, then shred with your fingers into small bite-sized pieces. Set aside.

2. Add fish sauce and rock sugar to soup, then bring it to a boil over medium-high heat. Taste and add salt, if necessary. Add the chicken, mushrooms and noodles. As soon as soup returns to a boil, remove from heat. The noodles will have become clear and plump. Taste once more to check the seasoning and adjust with fish sauce or salt.

3.Transfer noodles and broth into soup bowls. Garnish with a sprinkle of Vietnamese coriander or cilantro and lots of pepper. Serve immediately. If using, pass chilis at the table.

—Ms. Nguyen is the author of “Into the Vietnamese Kitchen,” “Asian Dumplings” and “Asian Tofu,” all from Ten Speed Press, where the original versions of these recipes appear.

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